Chapter 171: Each with His Own Agenda

Life on the defense line was not very comfortable, at least for the second prince.

Military life is naturally hard. There is a lack of entertainment, and one has to face enemies that pop up from time to time.

Originally, Rand's purpose in building the defense line was just to prevent the Snow Fox Countess from learning his strategies, such as sending cavalry regiments to rob the Crescent Territory.

At the beginning, Rand had not thought of building it to this extent, and had not thought of stationing troops here for a long time.

Therefore, the construction of this place did not take comfort into consideration. Although it was compensated for later, that was all.

Taner and Fenris naturally didn't feel anything when they were stationed here. They had been leading troops outside for many years and had experienced all kinds of harsh environments. At least the defense line had a place to shelter from the wind and rain, which was already quite good.

But the second prince was not very adaptable to this.

Although the current king's political skills are immature, his other qualities are acceptable and he is not pretentious.

During the civil war, I ate and lived together with the soldiers.

His military command ability is not evident, but he did charge into battle himself.

But the second prince was not used to the life on the defense line. The rough stones, dusty ground and cold and hard bed boards were all unbearable for him.

There were mosquitoes at night and the food was bland.

He really couldn't stand this kind of life.

Moreover, the Black and Brown Marquis did not allow them to plunder.

Although the second prince himself did not care much about the wealth of the village, this also directly led to his lack of an entertainment activity.

For example, listening to the wailing of the villagers, and the leader did not bring women this time. He originally planned to taste some game in the village, but now it seems a little impractical.

As for the issue of guarding the defense line, although the Second Prince was very concerned about the fact that this defense line did not take comfort into consideration, he even wanted to criticize Rand's taste for ordering the construction of this defense line from time to time.

But we have to admit that although this line of defense looks a bit crude, it can definitely hinder the enemy's attack. By staying here, a lot of effort can be saved.

It is not clear where the Southern Kingdom's counterattack troops are marching to, so there is nothing to do now.

After thinking for a while, the second prince felt that plunder was still necessary.

Without looting, how would the losses of the knights and nobles who participated in the war at their own expense be calculated? Looting is to boost the morale of the army!

Although this matter violated the military orders of the Marquis of Black and Brown, the second prince felt that he was the future king's biological brother from the same mother, so how could a marquis have the right to interfere in his actions?

And as long as no one spreads it, the Black and Brown Marquis will not know what he did here.

As for the lord here, he is just a small viscount, and the second prince doesn't dare to tell tales on him.

However, the second prince still planned to take a small insurance policy. Now the two sons of the Marquis of Black and Brown were also in this army. It was a good opportunity to let them lead the looting. Even if they were discovered afterwards, he could also shift the blame to the children of the Marquis of Black and Brown.

The second prince sat in the main seat of the core fortress. This used to be Taner's seat, but now all the troops in the hideout have been driven out.

The raiding group was still qualified to participate in the war, but according to Rand, there was no need to clash with the counter-attack group when the situation was unclear.

Especially when the commander along the way was the second prince.

The second prince moved his buttocks a little uncomfortably, as there was no cushion on the seat. He called over the two sons of the Marquis of Black and Brown, who were the fifth and seventh children of the Marquis of Black and Brown.

They all looked strong and good-looking. After observing them for a while, the second prince said, "The morale of the soldiers doesn't seem high."

The two strong young men were a little confused and didn't understand what the second prince meant.

Seeing that they were two stupid people who didn't know how to figure things out, the second prince was somewhat helpless and continued to explain: "Lord Black and Brown Marquis doesn't allow us to plunder, but the soldiers paid for their own food and brought their own equipment to participate in the plunder. If there is no place to make up for it, then it is really..."

Now the two young men understood: "You mean, we should rob the army of Crescent Territory?"

The second prince wanted to nod, but he didn't understand at once: "You want to rob that looting group?"

The two young men nodded. They understood what the second prince meant, although they had long disliked Rand.

Rand and his subordinate Taner were really lucky to have achieved such great achievements under their father. If they were given such an opportunity, they would have been viscounts now.

But! They were not stupid, at least they could see that the second prince wanted to use them as pawns and make them openly oppose their father's military orders.

The two of them sneered in their hearts.

So what if he is the second prince? The current king is in his prime, and it is still a long way for the new king to ascend the throne. Besides, it will be the eldest prince who will ascend the throne later, not him, the second prince.

I'm thinking of such a cheap trick now.

They did hate Rand, but that didn't mean they wanted to be used, and their interests had changed. Rand was no longer the object of their envy. Now their older brothers who were ahead in the inheritance rights had lost their chances. Their future achievements would already be marquises, and their future was destined to be something that Rand needed to look up to.

That is, they need to compete with each other.

They looked at each other, hoping that the other would take on the task.

But unfortunately, neither side has this intention, and now they are just playing dumb.

The second prince was even more helpless. He had heard that the children of the Marquis of Black and Brown were useless, but now it seemed that they had intellectual problems. He still didn't understand even after being told so clearly, so he had to say, "It's a looting of the village. As long as we do it secretly, or to be more precise, as long as no one tells it, no outsiders will know that we violated the military order."

The two sons of the Black and Brown Marquis continued to sneer and said, "You also know that this is against military orders, so you dare not do it yourself and let them do it."

To be honest, they didn't really want to serve the second prince. In this world, the status of a prince was not that high.

Especially since the second prince has an older prince above him.

But this second prince seems to have no self-awareness. The reason why they haven't shown any displeasure to him yet is purely because this second prince is now the commander of this army.

Just like before, when Rand was the commander of the Fifth Legion Infantry Regiment, except for the beginning, the nobles under him did not dare to offend him, because as an army commander, it was too easy for him to kill anyone he wanted.

Now they have the same mentality towards the second prince, but this does not mean that they are willing to be used as a gun by the second prince.

Seeing that the second prince had made his point completely clear, the two men's faces suddenly turned ugly, and they said hesitantly: "The Black and Brown Marquis is our father... this..."

Seeing the cowardice of these two young men, the second prince was a little angry. Although these two young men looked stupid, they were too cowardly and were not very useful.

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Now he had no choice but to order others. Anyway, he couldn't stand the boredom anymore, so he had to arrange for people to rob.

Behind the defense line, where we set up camp.

The house from which the hideout supplies the front has arrived.

The Centaur Driver is truly versatile in all terrains. Not only can he keep his eyes and ears open in all directions, he also has the initiative to hide from the rain and avoid some ferocious monsters.

Moreover, their fighting capacity is not weak either. Some ordinary villagers who have been transformed into bandits and robbers are definitely no match for the Centaurs.

Rand now equips the centaurs who will walk dangerous sections with leather armor, longbows, and naginatas.

The initial appearance of the Centaurs did cause panic, but humans are very adaptable. Following Rand's announcement and the discovery that these Centaurs, apart from liking to chat, did not look like monsters, everyone has now adapted.

Many times, when the Centaurs came to deliver goods, these soldiers also liked to chat with them and ask about the latest gossip.

For example, Rand seems to have some ambiguous relationship with Elsa.

For example, it is said that a team of adventurers actually opened a restaurant in the resort.

Some Centaurs would even send letters home to these soldiers.

In short, there will definitely be no morale penalty for the Centaurs staying with the soldiers in the hideout.

There are even bonuses.

The Centaur Driver Who Is Good at Chatting: Comfort +2. Some new types of juice were delivered today, the kind with syrup and honey.

If this kind of thing was sold in a tavern, the price would be very high, but as military supplies, Rand was happy with it, so the cost was actually not bad.

At least it's okay to supply it occasionally. The soldiers in the hideout have worked hard for a long time and now they finally have a holiday. Rand has prepared a lot of good things anyway.

Taner and Fenris sat aside grilling meat. Taner was quite relaxed. He cut a piece of meat, sprinkled some salt on it, and put it in his mouth to chew.

Fenris still frowned: "It seems that they didn't send out scouts on the defense line."

"They have 3,000 people." Taner was not very worried. "Besides, we built the defense line. We know the situation well. No matter what, it won't be breached too quickly."

Fenris thought back and was still worried.

In fact, Taner was also very worried. From his memory, the quality of these troops was okay, with a low proportion of conscripted soldiers, but the degree of integration was very poor, and the commanders' level was probably very low.

But as the commander, he needs to stay calm. If the commander panics, the people below will become even more panicked.

After delivering the goods, the Centaurs wiped their mouths. They were very satisfied with the life here. Some of them were captured from the ruins, and some were captured in the outside world and taken to hideouts. At first they were disheartened until they met a group of Tauren who could speak the common language.

Now, as the means of transportation of the hideout, they live a very comfortable life. Not only are they not hated by everyone, but they can also enjoy the food specially provided by the hideout.

Centaurs originally did not have the racial trait of promoting gossip, but after learning the common language, they felt uncomfortable not saying something, and later they found chatting to be very interesting.

Later, it became like this.

Anyway, they admired Lord Rand very much. At least they thought there was nothing wrong with being a coachman, and they even got paid, which was something they had not expected.

Although the salary is not high, it is much better than not having enough food to eat, not having enough clothes to wear, and being condemned by everyone.

And this job includes food and accommodation.

(End of this chapter)